Losing Isn't Always Bad, Just Usually
by Dustbunny3
Summary: One-shot. Vaguely ShishiKeiko. Shishiwakumaru loses a bet that has him out in the rain literally. But it would seem that it's not all bad.


Disclaimer: Dustbunny doesn't own YYH. Go thank someone.

Dustbunny: Yeah, Zephyrus beat me to this too. It's just as well- this isn't among the best fics you'll ever read. I won't bother you with saying that I've had the idea for so long because I doubt you would believe me.

Bunnydust: If you weren't so lazy...

Kuwabara: Just get to the stupid story

Dustbunny: Kuwa-kins! #glomp#

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The ground was cold. The wind was cold. The tree he was leaning against was cold. The freaking _sunlight_ was cold. All of this added up to one horrible, grossly unjust conclusion- Shishiwakumaru was cold.

_Touya should have lost; he likes the cold. But then that isn't necessarily good for me..._ he thought to himself grudgingly, dispising the lose-lose situation he had just realizaed he had been faced with. It had probably been a set-up. He had not only lost, he had found that even if he had won the bet, the victory would be hollow. _That must be it. Since when does Touya make bets anyway?_

"How ya holdin' out?" The words had a slight slur to them as well as a gruff, distinct sound. Chuu.

Shishiwakumaru turned to glare at him. Sure enough, the tall, tanned drunkard was smirking at him. Shishiwakumaru's glare intensified. How dare that moron disturb his brooding! This was partially his fault anyway.

"I'm doing just fine," Shishiwakumaru dragged out, looking the other way and propping his chin on his fist.

"Ya sure?" Chuu asked, an odd look about him. The oaf was up to something- Shishiwakumaru just didn't know what. Maybe it was just the liquor...

"I'm sure," Shishiwakumaru answered the question with slight suspision. A quick glance around, however, revealed nothing out of the ordinary.

"Don't need nothin'?" Chuu persisted. Now he had a full-out look of a mischeivious child. Still, nothing seemed amiss. Again, Shishiwakumaru considered if it was just a side-effect of all the alcohol Chuu had ingested- and scowled as he was reminded of why he was in the predicament he was in.

"I don't need a thing," replied Shishiwakumaru with all dignity.

"Just wanted ta check," said Chuu, who was now smiling ear-to-ear, as he turned tojog back toward the temple. Something was wrong. Although something else certainly smelled good... wait a minute!

"Wait a minute!" Shishiwakumaru echoed the thought, wide-eyed.

The protest was drowned out, however, by Chuu calling to the others, "'E said no! We can split 'is grub!" A slight cheer could be heard from inside as Chuu shut the doors, not even bothering to take notice of a slack-jawed, wide-eyed Shishiwakumaru.

"Those- those-!" Shishiwakumaru found he could complete the sentence. He simply couldn't find a word strong enough to describe the demons within the temple- demons who were right now eating his dinner.

"At least it isn't raining," grumbled Shishiwakumaru as his stomach scolded him loudly. No sooner were the words out of his mouth, of course, than he heard a loud clap of thunder.

In less than a minute he was sitting in the middle of a downpour. At least there was the tall tree that he was leaning back against... wait... wasn't that bad? Lightning flashed threateningly, making Shishiwakumaru gulp slightly. He was seriously considering taking up the alternate payment for losing the bet. But, no, he would not reduce himself to something so low. It was just rain, wind, a bit of lightning- big deal! He could handle it.

Almost smirking, he looked toward the temple, expecting to see someone come out to check on him. Well, he would be right there. They would see. Yes, at any minute they would come to collect him, sure he couldn't handle it. Oh, but he could. He could take it with perfect stride. Still, they would be out at any minute. Wouldn't they feel small? Yes, sirree, would they be awed. Any minute now...

"Oh, come on!" yelled Shishiwakumaru into the wind. "They aren't seriously just going to leave me here, are they!"

When twenty minutes passed, Shishiwakumaru was thouroughly soaked and still no one had appeared, he decided that, yes, they were.

"I hope they get sick off that dinner," he muttered darkly. At least he could no longer smell it. All the windows had been closed to the storm. "Creeps."

Several hours passed and the rain slowed to a heavy drizzle. Not that it helped Shishiwakumaru any. He was wet and cold enough that he could barely feel it anyway. His head was pouding so badly that he felt he might kill for an asprin. Then again, he might just kill in general.

"The least they could do is bring me a blanket," he grumbled to no one, forgetting that he had already stated that he had want of nothing. As he spoke, he felt his throat burn just enough to worsen his discomfort. If he was sick, he vowed to cough on the entire populace of the temple.

Having nothing better to do at the moment, though, he decided to wallow in his own pity.

"Someone as powerful and gorgeous as me shouldn't have to put up with this," he sighed. "Really, who can drink that much liquor in under ten minutes! It's not natural! That obnoxious, idiotic freak of nature." Shishiwakumaru crossed his arms in a huff. "It's not fair," he finished pitifully.

"Are you okay?" he heard the soft question come from near by and jumped in shock.

Scanning the area, he quickly identified the source: a human female.

_Not a bad-looking human female_, he decided as he gave her a quick once over. She was somewhat familiar too. He looked her over again in an attempt to identify her. It came to him in a flash- Uremeshi's woman! But what was she doing at the temple, especially in this storm?

"Um, Mr. Shi.. wait, uh... Shishi-something-other..," she stopped talking to him and was now mumbling to herself about what his name was. It began with "Shishi," she was sure, and it had an obsene number of syllables...

Shishiwakumaru watched the girl with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. It was funny to watch her struggle to come up with his name, but at the same time... it wasn't. He was the great Shishiwakumaru- everyone should know his name! Oh, good lord... he was starting to sound like Suzuki.

"Okay, I give up," he looked back at her as she shook her head with light disgust. "Who are you?"

With an arrogant sniff he responded, "_I _am Shishiwakumaru."

"I knew it began with 'Shishi,'" he heard her say, more to herself than to him.

"Why are you here?" he finally asked, growing annoyed- especially since it had come to his attention that the girl was wearing a protective slicker and carried a spacey umbrella.

"I was hoping Genkai might know where I could find Yusuke," she said quietly, not looking at him. "He hasn't been around."

"Oh," was all Shishiwakumaru could think to say.

"I don't suppose you know where he is?" she asked somewhat hopefully.

"I believe," he started cautiously, "that the detective is on a mission in Makai."

"I thought as much," she mumbled, though whether she was talking to him was uncertain.

Several minutes passed and she didn't leave. Shishiwakumaru began to feel uncomfortable. He had the disturbing feeling that she might cry, and he had no idea what he should do in that instance.

"Why are you here?" she asked suddenly. "Outside, I mean."

Turning away, Shishiwakumaru grumbled, barely audible, "I lost a bet."

"So you have to stay out in the rain?" asked the girl with a horrified look on her face.

"Not exactly," he answered. "I just have to stay in this spot. The rain came later."

"So you were out here when it first started? It was pouring!" her eyes got wide and her voice carried and edge of anger.

"I can handle a little rain," he straitened up and declared with dignity. The statement was immediately followed by a series of sneezes.

"Bless you," the words were distracted and automatic. Shishiwakumaru looked up at the girl to find her givng a hard stare towards the temple. She looked as if she might go and yell at the occupants therein herself.

"I agreed to stay out here," he told her, weary of getting blamed for sending her on a rampage. "There was something else I could have done if I felt like weasling out."

"Then why stay out in a storm? You'll get sick!" she seemed sincerely worried.

"Because the alternate is streaking through a women's clothing store," he told her simply, scowling toward the temple yet again.

"Is that all?" he was surprised to hear her say. He looked upat her to see her frowning down at him.

"What do you mean 'is that all'?" he asked incredulously. "Would you streak through a men's clothing store?"

"No," she admitted, "but that's me. You're you. I don't see why that would be such a problem."

"I do have some amount of dignity," he sniffed. "I will not reveal myself to strange women as they try to mind their own business. Besides, those morons would probably take pictures."

"The women?" the girl arched one delicate eyebrow and a small smile entertained the idea of gracing her features.

"No, the idiots in there," replied Shishiwakumaru. Then he thought for a moment. "Although the women probably would too."

The girl- he couldn't begin to remember her name- giggled at that and shook her head.

"Well, they probably would," muttered the miffed demon. "Shouldn't you be going home?" he asked stiffly."It's late."

She seemed almost hurt, but nodded. Then bowing and bidding him good-bye, she started down the stairs. He watched her go for a moment before leaning back against the tree. Conversation had done nothing in the aid of his headache. He thought belatedly of the purse she carried and wondered if she had had an asprin.

_I wonder if I still have time to ask_, he thought to himself.

Realizing that if he wanted to know he had to call to her before she got too far away, he leaned forward quickly to see if she was even in hearing range. She was, but was getting further off.

"Hey!" he called to her, hoping it was loud enough- without being too loud. Luck was apparently with him because she paused and looked back. "Do you have any asprin with you, by chance?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment before her face lit up in realization. Digging through her purse, she headed back up the steps to give him the two Bayer that she had in sample form. Smiling, she held it up for him to see as she approached.

Unfortunately, she failed to notice the bad step she was about to take.

Shishiwakumaru winced when she yelped in shock and fear. Then he noticed that she was falling backwards- and she still had the asprin. He jumped up quickly, cringing at the stiffness of his joints and muscles, and hurried to catch her.

"Oh!" she gasped in surprise when she felt herself stop falling. She looked up at Shishiwakumaru greatfully. Then, almost triumphantly, she held up again the small package of asprin.

"Thanks," they said at the same time, Shishiwakumaru releasing the girl to tear open the package and swallow the small white pills. Keiko, meanwhile, leaned to pick up the umbrella that had fallen from her grasp.

"I hope that helps," she said as she straitened out her coat and held the umbrella over her head.

"So do I," he muttered as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

He glanced at her to see her looking back at him with concern. He quirked an eyebrow in question.

"Do you want my umbrell?" she offered. "I'll be fine with just the slicker."

"No," he answered. "I can handle a little rain. Besides, you have to get home and I think it may start getting hard again." He looked up at the sky.

"If you're sure..," she frowned.

"I am," he replied.

Then, just as she was turning reluctantly to leave, it did, indeed, turn nasty again. The icy drops pelted them both mercilessly and the wind howled.The girl, Shishiwakumaru saw, was having difficulty keeping her balance.

_Oh, for the love of power_, he almost growled in his own mind.

Without stopping to think about it, he swooped her up into his arms and bounded down the stairs. The girl almost lost her umbrella due to his suddenness. Ignoring how shocked she looked, he was at the bottom of the stairs in no time. Without pause, he continued on, running at a high-speed pace. Seeing a tall building, he secured his grip and leapt to the roof.

"Where do you live?" he asked bluntly, holding her so that the umbrella covered both of them.

"Huh?" she mumbled, still in shock. "Hey, wait, won't you get in trouble?"

"Only if they noice I'm gone," he dismissed her worry. "And it won't be near as much trouble if someone were to find that I let you walk home in this. Now, where are we going?"

Taking the words in, she blinked and pointed dumbly toward her house. Not hesitating, he ran the way she had pointed and jumped over the buildings to get there sooner. Getting used to the idea of being carried home by him, she gave him better directions, since she had originally indicated how to get to the bus stop she would have waited at. But she didn't get entirely comfortable, apparently, as she held onto him rather tightly. Shishiwakumaru was annoyed, in a sense, that she didn't trust him to be able to hold onto her. But then who was he to complain about being clung to by a pretty girl?

The buildings were giving way to residential areas so that he had to be more careful where he jumped. He hoped they were amost there, he didn't like being so close to so many humans. Besides, he was still nursing a headache, though the asprin had helped.

"This is it!" she called suddenly when they reached her house. "Just let me down by the window."

"The window?" he questioned, though he complied.

"You don't think I let my parents know I was going out at this time of night," she raised her eyebrows.

"I can see how that might be unwise," he grinned.

"Or impossible," she rolled her eyes as if any other parents in the world would let their daughter out in a storm during the dead of night.

"I suppose," he answered hurriedly. Now that he knew she was safe, he wanted to hurry back to his spot by the tree.

"Hey, now that I'm home, do you want to take the umbrella back with you?" she looked almost hopeful.

Shishiwakumaru sighed at her persistance and held out a hand for the ubrella. Smiling, she handed it over to him.

"Thanks for the ride," she smiled as she turned to open her window to go in. Then, just before dropping herself through the opening, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, making him blink in surprise. Blushing, she went in quickly and shut the window.

Shishiwakumaru was about to leave when she popped her head back out. "By the way," she said, "my name is Keiko; not girl."

She was back inside before he had the chance to look shocked. For a long moment he gaped, then shook his head and leapt away.

Without the girl- or Keiko, as she had identified herself- to hinder him, he was back at the temple in a flash. Looking around, he grinned to find that no one seemed to have missed him- of course he scowled a moment later. He hoped that a tree fell through all their windows. Several trees had blown over already. Ignoring them, he quickly settled back down so that he would seem to have been there the whole time. He then gratefully opened the umbrella and held it over his head. Slowly, despite the cold wind and rain, he drifted off.

When he awoke it was toseveral pairs of shoes planted in front of him. Groggily, he looked up at the others. They were smirking- definately a bad sign.

"What?" he asked hoarsely, a combination f sleepiness and the cold he was sure he had caught.

"You moved," Touya told him flatly, the others nodding in agreement.

"Says who?" Shishiwakumaru sat up abruptly, making the umbrella he had propped in his arm tip over. Oh... the umbrella. He cringed, making the others smirk wider.

"Even if that wasn't an indication," snickered Rinku, "you're at the wrong tree."

"Huh?" Shishiwakumaru scanned where he was. No, he was certain that this was the right tree.

"You were over there," Rinku went on, pointing to a fallen tree. Sure enough, on closer inspection, that was his tree.

"Crap," he said without meaning to.

"Ya know whaut this means," Chuu looked down at him without focusing.

_Stupid drunk_, Shishiwakumaru thought to himself. Then what Chuu had said hit him.

"Crap."

Keiko hummed as she looked through a rack of dresses. She wasn't the type to shop frequently, but it was a pleasure she alotted herself every now and then. Besides, Natsuko had wanted to go shopping and she had nothing else to do.

"How about this one, Keiko?" her four-eyed friend asked, holding up a simple red dress.

"It looks nice," commented Keiko as she looked over it. Then she held up the small camera that was hanging around her neck. "Do you want a picture in it?"

Part of the reason Natsuko had wanted to go shopping was because she was sending pictures of herself to relatives. Even if they were just relatives, she wanted to look nice- after all, those relatives might know some nice guys they showed off pictures to. She had figured that if she tried on the clothes and gotten pictures in them, she could have the joy of shopping and getting nice photos without the torture of spending money.

But before she could respond to Keiko's quetion, a woman's scream was heard- closely followed by another and another. They were getting closer and closer to where the two friends stood. Natsuko cowered back but Keiko tried to see what was happening. Accompanying the screams where laughs and catcalls.

_No way..._ she thought to herself.

A moment later, she saw a starck naked- and deeply blushing-Shishiwakumaru running in her general direction. As her face turned red and she backed away so he could pass, what he had said to her the previous night rang in her mind. An uncharacteristic evil smirk crossed her feautres even as she blushed and she ducked into a rack of clothes.

Within a half of a minute, he rushed by her hiding place, making Natsuko shriek and never noticing the bright flashes going off.

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Keiko: What the-!

Dustbunny: Heh heh. Sorry?

Bunnydust: You are such an idiot

Marshmallow: No time to state the obvious! Please review as you see fit!


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